Banking on the Status Quo

[Jason R]

Banking On The Status Quo –

 

Perhaps it is time to rethink which banks you want to deal with, and while you are at it - consider what happened in Cyprus recently.  As you know if you have watched the news, banks in Cyprus were closed to prevent a run on the banks. Why?  Because the government, together with the banks came up with a plan to remove up to 9.9% of a depositor’s money to help the banks pay the EU for bailout money to cover bank mistakes . . . 13 billion in mistakes.  While it was voted down due to public furor, it was a watershed moment in banking history.  In reaction it caused numerous articles to be written  about how this could happen anywhere and it caused the price of gold to go up. What is the price you might be asked to pay, for putting your money in a bank for safe keeping?  These are capital controls and if it works for one central bank it will be become the solution for others. See link 

If you have been following the recent  activities in the US Senate, you are likely to be incensed at the responses (or should I say lack of adequate response?) given by the government regulators.  As Senator Jeff Merkley put it to the head of the regulatory commission “So in effect you are telling me that these banks are too big to fail and the minor fines you impose are just a cost of doing a highly profitable business, is that correct?”  This is a paraphrase but accurate enough so you’ll know the videos are worth watching. See link 

Take Elisabeth Warren’s questions about when the last time the regulators took anyone to court or imposed a single jail sentence for money laundering  drug cartel money or al Qaeda’s?  Fidgety comments that were reduced to “not while I have been a regulator.” See link 

So HSBC for example, laundered illegal money for ten years, made billions paid a few million in fines and has never stopped a lucrative business.  Meanwhile Warren pointed out that if you or I had an ounce of cocaine we would be serving time.  But no one seems to care. See links 

What are your reactions to announcements that the Fed is printing money like crazy but huge amounts of it have been given to foreign banks operating in the US that are in financial trouble from buying Wall Street junk mortgages and derivatives. So does that mean first the taxpayers bailed out Wall Street, AIG, Fannie Mae and other private groups like the banks and now we are bailing out the foreign banks – thanks to the same generosity of the private banking institution called the Federal Reserve -  which charges the US taxpayers for the right to print money for their banking friends?  Isn’t that nice for their little banking system that so many of the taxpayers put money in their big banks, and work hard to pay off all that debt created by someone else as they foreclose on taxpayers homes.  Lucky for the Federal Reserve, the government and especially the biggest US banks, that the taxpayers in this country are not as smart as the people of Iceland.  

Icelandic taxpayers threw the politicians out of office and voted to make the banks responsible for their poor judgment and greed.  Caused no end of trouble for the players at the top.  They were appalled at the nerve of the people trying to hold the responsible officials  accountable.   It was hushed up and not in the media much since no one wanted that idea to become popular. 

The real insults to the us taxpayer were the recent remarks made by the head of that private banking cartel Mr. Bernanke.  For those of you that did not read his remarks or failed to understand what he was saying. I t was essentially that the money wasn’t real, it was electronic digits and the bonds and treasuries that were being sold could be taken back by them and vanish the way it had been created.  So while it might create inflation, and the Fed would essentially get paid three times on this made up money, no one should worry since the whole thing was being made up by them.  This was the gist of the ‘mysterious remarks’ made by Bernanke. See link 

The taxpayers and congress don’t get it and even if they do figure it out. . . what can they do about it – we own the system. Here is the link to that Bloomsberg article if you want to do some critical reading. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-11/bernanke-provokes-mystery-over-fed-stimulus-exit.html

So when you run for WF and the other big banks that want to give you great deals to cash out and keep your money. . . think about what those banks were and are up to. They caused you and every US citizen the recent huge increases in national debt. Now about $40,000.apiece for every man woman and child in this country.  Want to play their game?  

Use them, if they give you the best rate by a worthwhile amount, make sure they agree to promptly give you an official CCC statement upon receipt of your dinar.  Get the private banker to agree to this  BEFORE you finally hand your dinar to them.  This allow you to access your money promptly, and prevents them from sitting on it for weeks while you wait for them to release your cash (digits) back to you so you can finally use it. They were using it when you couldn’t.  Now comes the fun part.  If you have done your homework in advance you will have researched which of your local private banks and credit unions are not only in good financial shape (they didn’t make a bunch of bad loans) but would love to work with you. 

These are the financial institutions that invest locally and if properly managed will not be adversely affected by the crazy policies and risks the Big Banks play with.  Do not put everything with one bank if you have a substantial amount to invest/hold.  Big or small this, as has been already counseled, is asking for trouble. 

Why risk having all your funds frozen, stolen, seized whatever the reason or circumstance.  Flexibility  comes from diversity.  Diversity certainly does not mean having all your eggs in one basket.  That does not mean following the international advice of the big US brokerage houses Like Schwab or Goldman Sachs. Instead try talking with the people at Q Wealth - they will tell you that having everything invested in one country, one currency, amounts to one basket.  Now they are not the only ones to say that – that belief is echoed by numerous other good financial advisors that take a big picture or international perspective. The various Casey Reports offer loads of ways to diversify your holding and reduce your risks according to your mindset.  The trick with both these advisory groups and others  is taking the first steps. 

What we all have learned, if we have been following this investment  for more than an hour… is that what we read, hear, and think is not always accurate.  If we have hopefully learned anything from the dinar amusement ride, it is - prepare for the unexpected and do not count on politicians to have your best interests as their top priority.  That said, we have, as humans,  a major predisposition to believe and trust in things that we  are familiar with. The unwillingness to leave your comfort zone could be the biggest threat to holding onto or growing your investment.  This translates into the well-known story of placing the frog in cold water and gradually heating it to a boil. Lulled to sleep anyone can miss the approaching danger.  Every link in this article proves that point. 

You have taken the initial step of investing in a foreign currency, now might be the time to research what your other options are besides handing your money to the paragons of virtue and  sound management – Big Banks!  Raise questions in your chat rooms and talk shows, discover what other options might be safer and a better fit. 

  you tube of Merkley asking about too big to fail?

  price of doing business

Warren on why no legal action despite ties to Al Qaeda

  who have the regulators taken to trial

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/17/us-eurozone-cyprus-risk-idUSBRE92G0BG20130317    confiscating depositors’ money to bail out the banks

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204464404577118682763082876.html?mod=googlenews_wsj. Bailout of European banks by Fed

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/exclusive-feds-600-billion-stealth-bailout-foreign-banks-continues-expense-domestic-economy-

 submitted with permission from the blog by Chase Carlton

[dontlop]

you can always jackhammer a hole in your basement floor  and stick a safe in it and seal around it with concrete .. and keep a nice stash in it for emergencys ..maybe do it underneath  something ..  like a  drill press .. or   .. a wash tub ..   ..  just make sure its fire proof just in case ..

[Diddle]

Thanks, Jason.  I really enjoyed this article. Hats off to Chase Carlton.  I'm not the smartest cookie on the block when it comes to financial matters, but I've learned a lot more than I ever dreamed I would over the last 2 and a 1/2 years.  I just really liked this person's approach to the subject.  He made sense.  He was reasonable and sensable..not extreme ranting and raving.  And he's right - we want to believe people are honest, straight-shooters...but we're now being forced to either accept dishonesty everywhere  - or wake up.  We MUST learn all we can about this investment and then research, research, research.  Make the banks or credit unions work for you, or keep walking.  I've never been "tough" enough in negotiations, but I have every intention of standing firm when the day comes.  It's articles like this one that remind me that if I don't, they will eat me up and take every dollar they can from me, with a smile on their faces.

 

One more thing while I'm on this soapbox. You know those five large banks that received the huge bailouts?  Well, they are the same banks that refused to work with many of my friends and family members when they were threatened with losing their homes to foreclosure after a job loss, they refused to refinance when bad loans ballooned sky-high, they refused to even talk when homes were going underwater...  why in the world would anyone take their money to these institutions when we have all the proof we need to know - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that they are corrupt and not looking out for your best interest.

 

Okay, I feel better now.  Actually, that felt pretty good.    

[Diddle]

Oh, I got so fired up I almost forgot to give you a 1+.  Thanks again, Jason (and Carlton).

[umbertino]

you can always jackhammer a hole in your basement floor  and stick a safe in it and seal around it with concrete .. and keep a nice stash in it for emergencys ..maybe do it underneath  something ..  like a  drill press .. or   .. a wash tub ..   ..  just make sure its fire proof just in case ..

Reminds me of that scene in the movie "Training Day".....Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, etc. They jackhammer Scott Glenn's floor and find lots of cash ( drugs ill-gotten gains) and then kill him and share the money among themselves ( corrupt cops)

Edited March 23, 2013 by umbertino

[Peace]

you can always jackhammer a hole in your basement floor  and stick a safe in it and seal around it with concrete .. and keep a nice stash in it for emergencys ..maybe do it underneath  something ..  like a  drill press .. or   .. a wash tub ..   ..  just make sure its fire proof just in case ..

Are you being funny? Haha

[Maggie123]

Great Article Jason and Thank You for the links.

 

I enjoyed your response too Diddle

 

I sure wish we ALL (as a nation) would catch on to what is happening... much sooner would be better than later.

 

This was my favorite part...

 

 

"What are your reactions to announcements that the Fed is printing money like crazy but huge amounts of it have been given to foreign banks operating in the US that are in financial trouble from buying Wall Street junk mortgages and derivatives. So does that mean first the taxpayers bailed out Wall Street, AIG, Fannie Mae and other private groups like the banks and now we are bailing out the foreign banks – thanks to the same generosity of the private banking institution called the Federal Reserve -  which charges the US taxpayers for the right to print money for their banking friends? 

 

Isn’t that nice for their little banking system that so many of the taxpayers put money in their big banks, and work hard to pay off all that debt created by someone else as they foreclose on taxpayers homes.  Lucky for the Federal Reserve, the government and especially the biggest US banks, that the taxpayers in this country are not as smart as the people of Iceland.  

 

Icelandic taxpayers threw the politicians out of office and voted to make the banks responsible for their poor judgment and greed. 

 

Caused no end of trouble for the players at the top.  They were appalled at the nerve of the people trying to hold the responsible officials  accountable.   

 

It was hushed up and not in the media much since no one wanted that idea to become popular."

 

 

I love the "Iceland Solution" !!!

[Jason R]

The various articles about the BRICS taking matters into their own hands to create alternatives for trade and money to the IMF and World Bank points to the slowness of implementation of IMF reforms.  Of course the banks and Wall Street type finacial institutions are fighting any reforms that limit their power and flexibility.  This ties in with (in the US) how the Dodd-Frank bill rules seem to change and be only partially implemented.  The net result is refrom and change is being blocked by the major debtor nations. The BRICS who are the major sources of growth and hopes for economic stimulus by the G7 no longer want to play by rules that do not serve them. 

The result of their possible alliance will cause ripples that we can not even understand to the value of our currency and the debt situations of countries that remain stuck in the World BANK/IMF quagmire of greed and profit despite the fallout.  Travel full circle and we are back to the first tentacles of grasping at any straws in the Cyprus move to seize funds of the depositors rather than let the banks as institutions be responsible for poor fiscal policy.